Ugandan police beat journalists covering Besigye's arrest

New York, March 21, 2012--The Committee to Protect
Journalists condemns attacks by Ugandan police against two journalists in
separate incidents outside of police stations today.

Police officers beat freelance photographer Edward Echwalu as he
was trying to cover the arrest
of opposition leader Kizza Besigye at Kira Road Police Station in the capital,
Kampala. Separately, police beat Anatoli Luswata, a reporter for the private
weekly Eddobozi, outside Kampala's
Central Police Station. Both journalists were trying to cover the arrest of
Besigye, local journalists told CPJ, but it wasn't clear until later in the day
which police station was holding him. Opposition supporters were taken into
custody after demonstrations against police brutality in Kampala turned into
clashes and one policeman died, according to wire
reports.

Using batons and a rifle butt, four officers repeatedly beat
Echwalu, a photographer for Reuters
and the independent weekly Observer, around 4:40 p.m. outside
Kira Road Police Station where Besigye was detained, he told CPJ. When Echwalu
tried to explain to the police officers that he was covering the event, they
started to beat him. "They did not want to see my ID. They didn't want to
listen," Echwalu told CPJ. The beating continued until opposition parliamentary
members arrived on the scene. Echwalu said he attempted to report the incident
to the police station immediately afterwards, but police did not allow him to
enter. Bruised on his right arm and shoulder, Echwalu went to Kampala Hospital
for treatment, he said. Echwalu managed to take photographs of the four
officers after the incident.

Police officers beat Luswata on his back with batons outside
the gate of Kampala's Central Police Station, local journalists told CPJ. They
said they suspect police attacked Luswata because he was the first to arrive at
the scene and there were no other reporters to cover the incident.

"Covering opposition party issues is not a crime. Ugandan
police must stop arbitrarily attacking journalists simply for doing their job,"
said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "Authorities must immediately identify
the officers who carried out these attacks and take disciplinary measures."

Calls to police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba went
unanswered. According to CPJ
research, police and security agents were responsible for at least 21 cases
of physical attacks against journalists during the country's 2011 election
year.